BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The increased use of the turf fields at Myrtle Park has created traffic and parking issues for residents on East Walnut Street.
Residents said they are looking to find a happy medium with park goers.
“The popularity of Myrtle Park with Charles Field has brought a surge of parking problems for the residents of East Walnut Street,” said resident Audrey Gatling. “The parking lots are too small and the overflow of the parking surges onto East Walnut Street.”
Gatling and some of her neighbors attended a Borough Council meeting on Nov. 7 addressing their concerns. They said their street is the only entrance into the park.
“Both residents and park goers have to dart in and out of the spaces to let oncoming traffic come in, [then] there’s a slowdown … it’s annoying,” she said.
Gatling said they have to be careful coming out of their driveways.
“The street is now filled not only with drivers, but with pedestrians,” she said adding that her neighbors include elderly people and people with disabilities.
“There are a lot of children and families coming in, which we enjoy, but we want to consider some options,” she said.
Resident Ted Coleman said he has lived on East Walnut Street since 1971.
“It was a very quiet, easy going street even though we had the park,” he said. “There were limited activities then with a basketball court.”
In the past four to five years, Coleman said traffic has become “horrendous” with people speeding on the street.
“We are a family street,” he said adding that previously the park had openings at Myrtle and Orchard avenues.
Coleman said at one point large planters were put at the entrance on Myrtle Avenue blocking ingress/egress into the park and the Orchard Avenue opening is small.
“There is a safety problem,” he said suggesting the possibility of implementing speed bumps on the street.
Mayor Peter Cammarano said he has had a meeting with Borough Administrator Jennifer Maier and Police Chief David Irizarry on the resident concerns.
“It is a problem,” he said noting that fields at Myrtle Park are the most used fields in the borough. “[Maier and Irizarry] are taking a look from a number of aspects … speed, safety, survey parking areas. The fact that people go fast [on East Walnut Street] is amazing to me.”
Gatling said they tend to experience the most traffic on Tuesday nights and late Sunday morning and early afternoons.
Coleman said he feels every night is a problem with teams practicing on the fields.
Gatling also noted that she has seen the field lights on past 10 p.m., which Cammarano said officials will look into.
He said the lights are required to be shut off at 10 p.m.
Maier said as they work on solutions, for immediate enforcement, they will be able to put the borough’s automated blinking sign at the location asking people to slow down.
